God takes the undesirables and the broken and he makes them whole again. He is a light in a dark world. He is strength when you have none and he is there when no one else is. God has always been at work in my life even if I didn’t see it at the time. If you are in a dark spot in your life, please know you are not alone, God is not far from you even if he may feel far away.
I grew up in Southwest Detroit, and until I was six, we were Jehovah witnesses. I never felt like I belonged being a Jehovah witness. I was missing something but didn’t know what it was. Then my older sister and I started to attend a Baptist Church where we heard about the Jesus of the Bible. It turned out Jesus was the missing piece in my life. I learned all about him and his love.
I learned how he gave his perfect life in place of my sinful life. He paid for my sins by dying on the cross and then three days later was raised again so that I too could have eternal life. When I was eight years old, I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior and was baptized.
It brought me great Joy to learn all about Jesus as a kid, but they never prepared me for the fact that the moment you say “yes” to God the devil tries to tear you down. I have experienced pain and hurt that I could never describe. When I was 14, I lost my mother and became very angry at the world and God. I turned away from God and the church because I couldn’t understand how a just and loving God could allow one person to hurt so much. I began living a life of sin and doing things I’m not proud of today. This continued until I finally hit rock bottom and did not care whether I lived or died. I had accepted the Devil's lies as truth about who I was.
Then God met me where I was and reminded me of the love I had learned about as a child. God showed me he had a reason for me and that I was valued. He rescued me and began to draw me back to himself. It didn’t all happen right away. It took years of healing to bring me to where I am today, but as I look back now, I can see he was always there. He was a light in those dark places.
By his grace, I would go on to have a family of my own and God has used my love for my own family to help me understand him even better. The devil will try to isolate you and make you feel alone but God held onto me. I started going to church again, praying, and reading the Bible. Although my life is far from perfect, I know for sure that I am loved and accepted by God. I know he has a purpose for me and values me because he sent his own Son to die for me. God continues to push me out of my comfort zone and stretch me in ways I never thought imaginable, but I know I can trust him and that he loves me.
Just like Jesus changed Rachel, he can change you too!
Learn more about authentic life change (and experience it for yourself) by visiting our church this Sunday. We meet every Sunday at 10:30am at 15700 Leroy Street in Southgate, right across from Southgate Anderson High School. You can find directions here.
We'd love to have you to join us!
WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU VISIT (click)
Here are some highlights of what you can expect when you visit with us:
1. A powerful and relevant message from the Bible that speaks to you wherever you are (by the way, you can check out previous messages here)
2. People who are friendly, loving, and approachable who really care about you, even if they’ve never met you before.
3. Your kids to be taken care of and learn about Jesus in a safe, clean, and fun environment
4. God-centered worship but designed so that every part of the service makes sense to you even if you’ve never been to church before.
Again, we meet at 10:30am at 15700 Leroy Street in Southgate Michigan.